My copy of Nov.07 'Ferries Australia', issue 55, arrived yesterday.
The main article is part 1 of 'Up the river', the history of Lane Cove River ferries. The river is not long, and flows from the north west to a harbour entry just west of today's Sydney Harbour Bridge, with headwaters just short of Hornsby.
Ferries mentioned in the article:
* 'Rose Hill Packet': sail & oars.
* 'Surprise': built in 1831, the first steam boat to be built in Australia. Propulsion not mentioned.
* 'Fire Fly', in use as a ferry from April 1838. Propulsion not mentioned. Sold for use in Port Phillip Bay, to which it voyaged under its own steam. [I may have a reference to this in a book].
* A mystery vessel, no name, no date, no propulsion.
* 'PS Princess', in use from 1842. The author described it as paddlewheel, with no hint re side or stern.
* c1860 'Ysobel', a small screw steamer, smaller than the the large and sturday paddlesteamers then being operated to Parramatta (ie up Sydney Harbour and into Parramatta River).
* 'Kirribilli', built in 1960. Propulsion not mentioned.
* PS 'Womerah', chartered from another company, in use on Lane Cove River from 1878.
* 'Gypsy', a cargo boat, propulsion not mentioned, in use on the river from 1885.
There were no photos of any of these, or even contemporary sketches.
3 more months until part 2 is published.
Afternoon update:
'Firefly' gets only a brief mention in Jack Loney 'Bay steamers and coastal ferries': It was the first Yarra steamer, and began trading between Melbourne and Williamstown on 28.10.1838. It ran for only 2 years, then was dismantled; the engines went to a sawmill.
On the same page is a photo of PS Kangaroo, built for Parramatta River (Sydney, NSW), then to Tasmania in 1847, in Melbourne by 1852, and broken up c1891.
Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor
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